IN OUR OPINION

Editorial: The Munroe money

Published: Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 1:11 p.m.

Now that the decision about who will run Munroe Regional Medical Center for the next four decades has been made, a new set of decisions lies ahead for the community — thanks to the $212 million windfall in the form of a lease payment for the 115-year-old hospital.

Under law, there are limits on how the money can be spent. Specifically, it must be spent on general health care, and it must be managed by the Marion County Hospital District trustees.

For a community where almost one in four residents has no health care insurance — not even Medicare or Medicaid — and that ranks in the bottom half of Florida’s 67 counties for overall health, there are myriad ways the money could be wisely invested in uplifting the people of Marion County. Certainly an argument can be made for more community clinics for the poor and uninsured. And with one-third of our children living in poverty, more health care outreach, especially in the more rural reaches of our sprawling county, is needed. A growing elderly population presents its own long list of immediate community health care needs.

The community is also facing a physician shortage, if not an outright crisis. Maybe it would be smart to spend some of the Munroe money on physician recruitment to ensure that when we do have adequate health care services available, there is someone to deliver them to the patients.

This short list of potential health care services that could be provided, and are probably needed, illustrates the importance of the Munroe trustees, as overseers of the lease payment fund, to establish some hard and fast guidelines for managing the money. It is not rocket science, nor is this the first time a community has been in such a position. Nonetheless, it is important the money be managed and spent judiciously to ensure that it helps the most people, elevates the general quality of health care and overall health in Ocala/Marion County, and is spent in a manner that guarantees that we can enjoy the fruits of our community hospital for not years, but decades to come.

A community health needs assessment already has been done for Ocala/Marion County. That should be a starting point. Then, the trustees need to be given the freedom — with no outside political interference, we would hope — to develop a long-term strategy and some strict criteria for what sort of programs will be funded and what parameters should be put in place for grant-making and investment.

For all the push and pull that accompanied the Munroe debate over the past few years, the end result is our publicly owned community hospital will now be operated by a private company — a private company that paid the taxpayers of Ocala/Marion County $212 million for the opportunity. Whether or not you agreed with the outcome of the public-or-private debate is no longer relevant. What is important is that we, as a community, seize upon the huge windfall provided by the huge infusion of money from a longtime community asset to make this a better place to live.

What the community does with the proceeds of the Munroe lease will be the legacy by which this deal will be judged by generations to come.

<p>Now that the decision about who will run Munroe Regional Medical Center for the next four decades has been made, a new set of decisions lies ahead for the community — thanks to the $212 million windfall in the form of a lease payment for the 115-year-old hospital.</p><p>Under law, there are limits on how the money can be spent. Specifically, it must be spent on general health care, and it must be managed by the Marion County Hospital District trustees.</p><p>For a community where almost one in four residents has no health care insurance — not even Medicare or Medicaid — and that ranks in the bottom half of Florida's 67 counties for overall health, there are myriad ways the money could be wisely invested in uplifting the people of Marion County. Certainly an argument can be made for more community clinics for the poor and uninsured. And with one-third of our children living in poverty, more health care outreach, especially in the more rural reaches of our sprawling county, is needed. A growing elderly population presents its own long list of immediate community health care needs.</p><p>The community is also facing a physician shortage, if not an outright crisis. Maybe it would be smart to spend some of the Munroe money on physician recruitment to ensure that when we do have adequate health care services available, there is someone to deliver them to the patients.</p><p>This short list of potential health care services that could be provided, and are probably needed, illustrates the importance of the Munroe trustees, as overseers of the lease payment fund, to establish some hard and fast guidelines for managing the money. It is not rocket science, nor is this the first time a community has been in such a position. Nonetheless, it is important the money be managed and spent judiciously to ensure that it helps the most people, elevates the general quality of health care and overall health in Ocala/Marion County, and is spent in a manner that guarantees that we can enjoy the fruits of our community hospital for not years, but decades to come.</p><p>A community health needs assessment already has been done for Ocala/Marion County. That should be a starting point. Then, the trustees need to be given the freedom — with no outside political interference, we would hope — to develop a long-term strategy and some strict criteria for what sort of programs will be funded and what parameters should be put in place for grant-making and investment.</p><p>For all the push and pull that accompanied the Munroe debate over the past few years, the end result is our publicly owned community hospital will now be operated by a private company — a private company that paid the taxpayers of Ocala/Marion County $212 million for the opportunity. Whether or not you agreed with the outcome of the public-or-private debate is no longer relevant. What is important is that we, as a community, seize upon the huge windfall provided by the huge infusion of money from a longtime community asset to make this a better place to live.</p><p>What the community does with the proceeds of the Munroe lease will be the legacy by which this deal will be judged by generations to come.</p>